My Secret
by Ggunsailor
Summary: Someone you wouldn't expect comes forth with his side of the story...and with an unexpected twist. No flames, pleeze be gentle!


**My Secret**

**By **

**Ggunsailor**

**Yes, this is what comes out of the little twisted mess that is my brain. It kept popping into my head and I couldn't take it any more.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Little Mermaid. Disney does; and so does the estate of Hans Christian Anderson.**

**Oy; I didn't expect it to be so long.**

**Rated T for strange love. If that offends you, then please don't read this.**

**You guys are my best critics!**

I'm not even sure when I knew I was in love with Ariel. I think it was on one of our adventures, I don't remember which one.

She was silhouetted in the light of the setting sun which shone scarlet through the water, making her hair a fiery red and her green tail emerald. She was laughing I think; her eyes were crinkled at the corners and shining like crystal.

And in that second, I knew I was in love.

I guess it's only natural that I would have romantic feelings for her. After all, she & I were best friends for a long time. Yes, there were times when our escapades would nearly get us all killed (I nearly got pushed over a cliff in a shipwreck by angry merpeople), but that didn't stop me from being her friend.

I was the one who she told all her secrets to; all her desires, dreams and wishes. I would find myself telling her my own, but I never told her about my feelings. Over time, at royal functions and events like that, she'd point out some attractive fish and say "What about her? She's cute." I'd shake my head and say "Nah; she's not what I'm looking for."

I finally told someone; Sebastian. I told him two days before the king's concert.

He looked shocked at me, and I was afraid he would have one of his infamous breakdowns, or faint dead away. But he just shook his head ruefully and said "Well, dat's natural, mon."

"It is?" I asked him.

"Sure. Dat'll happen sometimes; when two people have been together, one person gonna have feelings for de other."

"But it hurts, Sebastian!" I shouted at him. "I mean, I know merpeople are half fish, but it just isn't right! And not only that, she's a princess; who'll probably become queen of Atlantica! How do ya think it'll look if someone finds out a fish is in love with her!?"

"Whoa, whoa; calm down now. Do you want to know what I would do if I were you?"

I sniffled a little. "What?"

"Wait and see if your feelin's go away. Maybe it's just a passin' ting."

"And if it isn't?"

Sebastian smiled sadly. "Den I can't help ya dere, my friend."

I never really got a chance to see if my feelings would go away. Because two days later, I opened my big mouth and spilled that me and Ariel had been going to the surface. That evolved into a sound scolding from her dad, and her swimming away in tears.

I followed after her and begged "Ariel, wait!"

She turned to me. "What?" she asked, wiping her eyes & sounding like she didn't want to talk to me. I didn't blame her.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to mention seeing Scuttle; it just came out. You know I've got a big mouth." I joked. "I should've been a bass 'stead of a guppy!"

That got her to smile. I continued "Anyway, you can't stay mad at me forever. Please forgive me?" I gave her my best cute fish-face. "Pleeeeaaaase?" She grinned and hugged me.

"Ok, you're forgiven. Come on, let's go to the grotto."

And so we did, and that's when I learned about her deepest desire: to be human. I'll never forget the song she sang for as long as I live. I knew that my romantic feelings for her would never go away, but as long as she was happy, I was happy.

Well, things got hairy from there, as they say. Ariel followed a ship on the surface with Sebastian and I right behind her. A terrible storm blew up, and we were separated. It wasn't until morning that we found each other again.

We washed up on a beach to find Ariel leaning over a human in rags and...singing? Yes, she was singing; a love song that touched me to my very soul. When the human woke up and gazed into her eyes, I felt a little pang of jealousy; how dare he look at my Ariel like that!?

The other humans came running, and we made a getaway to a rock not too far from shore. As she watched him go off, Sebastian said that we were going to forget this whole thing ever happened. The king would never know if I didn't tell him and he(Sebastian)didn't tell him. But my attention was drawn back to Ariel as she sang out that one day she would be "part of his world".

The three of us made plans to meet tomorrow, and as I swam off to home, I kept hearing her voice in my head, and even though I told myself that if she was happy, I would be too, I still felt...sad somehow.

That night, I dreamed that Ariel and I were human. We lived happily exploring, singing, etc. And I loved it in my dream when she said "I love you"...

I woke up weeping, and then went back to sleep.

The next day, I swam out early so that way I could get to where I needed to be. On my way, I bumped into Otto, an octopus I'd seen around sometimes and was friendly with. It seemed he'd found something on his morning swim and wanted to show me. When I asked him why, he said "The princess collects human things, right?"

"Right." What was he getting at?

"Well, I think it's a human thing. Can ya at least come and look?"

"Ok, but don't take forever. I have someplace I need to be."

I trailed him a good ways until we came to a cove. Otto pulled back some seaweed and said "Now that's gotta be human made. Am I right?"

I didn't answer him as I found myself staring at a statue of the human that Ariel was in love with. As I did, an idea struck me: Wouldn't she love it if she added it to her collection? 'And who better to surprise her than me?' I thought with a gleeful smile.

I turned to Otto and said "Get some of your friends; I'll need help getting this to her grotto."

After a while, we got it there. I thanked Otto and his friends, and then went to the meeting place. I found what looked like a musical number going on, with fish of all shapes and sizes dancing. I got roped by someone, untangled myself, and found Ariel sitting on a rock. I swam up to her and said in her ear "There's something waiting for you back at the grotto!" She followed eagerly.

As she moved the stone back, she asked me "Flounder, why can't you tell me what this is all about?"

"You'll see." I said, grinning broadly as I swam out into the grotto. "It's a surprise."

I'll never forget the look on her face as she saw the statue in the center. "Oh, Flounder." she breathed, then grabbed me and hugged me. "Flounder, you're the best!"

I smiled even more as she swum around it, talking to it and giggling. Suddenly, she gasped. I turned and saw King Triton standing in the shadows...and boy did he look mad.

What happened after that makes my blood boil. The king found out about her saving the human, and got even more mad when she said she loved him. He went berserk and fired his trident around the room, destroying all of her treasures; even the statue got blown to pieces!

After he left, she was inconsolable. When Sebastian tried to talk to her, she sobbed "Just go away."

We did, and went far away. Once we were a good ways far, I sniffled and sighed "Poor Ariel." Sebastian tried to explain "I didn't mean to tell. It was an accident."

Just then, Ariel appeared, along with two slimy looking eels. She was going to see Ursula the Sea Witch! Sebastian tried to stop her, but she rebuked him. We watched her go off, then he sputtered "Come on!". So we went after them. I thought as we went 'If she's desperate enough to see Ursula...'

This wasn't good.

Things were really strange after that. Ursula gave her legs, on the condition that Ariel had three days to get the prince to fall in love with her, and he had to kiss her before sunset on the 3rd day; if she didn't, she'd turn back into a mermaid...and belong to Ursula. In payment, Ariel gave the witch her beautiful voice. When she became human, she couldn't breathe underwater. So we (Sebastian and I) had to get her to the surface, and then take her to shore since she couldn't swim with her new legs.

Luck seemed to be on our side. The beach we took her to just happened to be close to where the prince lived. He found her and took her back to his palace; Sebastian going with her.

I felt a little gloomy as I watched them go, giving a silent prayer to all the seven seas that everything would be all right. I still felt envy though; he would be with _my_ Ariel. _He_ would fall in love with her, and not her with me. I spent a restless night thinking about that.

The next day, Ariel and Eric (I found out his name from Scuttle) came very close to kissing, thanks to Sebastian and some fellow sea creatures, but just as they were, the boat tipped and both of them went into the water. Darn it!

That night, I watched her at her window. She was combing her hair; with a dinglehopper, no doubt. I watched till she went away, and nearly got clunked on the head by someone throwing something into the water a few minutes later. Why do humans always feel like tossing things into the ocean?

Anyway, I found a place to sleep for the night. And I had a dream. We were in the grotto, just after sunset, and she was sitting on the little rock with me in her lap looking up at her.

_Ariel...I need to tell you something._

_What is it?_

_Ever since we've been friends, I've had feelings for you that I can't ignore anymore._

_What?_

_I...I...I love you, Ariel. I always have._

_Oh, gosh. I...don't know what to say. Except that—_

_Yes?_

_I love you, too._

_Y—you do?_

_Yes._

_Oh Ariel!_

I would like to say that the next morning, things were on the up and up. But they weren't. It turned out Eric had become engaged to another girl! And he was gonna marry _her_! That two-timin' jellyfish!

As the wedding ship sailed away, I heard crying coming from the pier above me. I looked up to see the girl I loved crying her heart out. A tear fell from her eye, and mingled with mine in the salt water.

For a while, the three of us just sat there, doing nothing. Then I couldn't take it any more and burst "We won't let her take her!"

Sebastian looked down at me. "How's dat, mon?"

"We won't let that witch take Ariel away from us! I can charge at her and—whap! POW!—hit her with my tail! And you can pinch her with your claws, and—"

"Yeah, mon. But you forgot she can turn us into polyps."

"Oh yeah." My well-laid attack plan became deflated.

"But hey. It was a good idea." I glanced up at him. "You think so?" I asked.

"Oh yeah. See look; ya got her to smile." I looked at Ariel, and saw a faint amused smile on her face. I smiled reassuringly back, then said to him "But we have to get some help! What about the king—"

"Oh, no! Not dat! He'll punish her, den fry you an' me wid de trident!"

"But—"

Any further argument was cut off by an out-of-breath Scuttle falling out of the sky. He had some bad news.

It turned out that the other girl was Ursula in disguise, using Ariel's voice to hypnotize Eric into marrying her. Scuttle heard her singing and he saw the Sea Witch in her mirror instead of her reflection!

With that said, Ariel tried to swim to the boat, but she couldn't with her legs; Sebastian ordered me to get her to the boat "as fast as your fins can carry you!" I did; she held onto one of those barrel-bobbers as I pulled on a rope. I grew tired, but every time I looked back at Ariel and her anxious expression, I'd gain new strength. We made it, and I caught my breath as she climbed up one of the oars.

Later on, Scuttle told me what happened on the deck. He broke the seashell that held Ariel's voice (he was very proud of that). When she got it back, Eric became un-hypnotized and found out she was the one he was looking for. They almost kissed when the sun finally set, and then Ariel pulled away from him and sank to the deck, her legs returning to a tail! Ursula turned back into her slimy self, grabbed her, and dived over the side.

That I saw, as I was still trying to catch my breath. I went after them...and did a gleeful back-flip when I saw King Triton menace her with the trident. But glee turned to worry as the Sea Witch struck a bargain with him: his power in exchange for Ariel. With a flash of light, Triton signed the contract and turned into a polyp.

Ariel launched herself at the witch and almost got killed as Ursula threw her off and aimed the trident at her. A pointymajigger came zipping out of nowhere and got her in the arm. It was Eric to the rescue! For once I was glad to see him. However Ursula wasn't as she sent her two eels to drag him down and try to drown him. Sebastian and I gasped. Then my friend yelled "Come on!" We charged and got them off him just in time; the trident blast hit Flotsam & Jetsam instead.

Then Ursula got angry! She started to grow bigger and bigger. We watched with me shaking in fear as she became bigger than a killer whale.

Eventually, thanks to a sunken ship, Eric took care of her by ramming the bowsprit into her middle. She disappeared into a pit of bubbling ooze and steaming water. The light nearly blinded us as we watched. The same time she was destroyed, all the mermen and mermaids she turned into polyps changed back. We found Ariel on the sea bed, safe and unharmed to our delight; it was even happier when we saw King Triton.

Later on, I floated with Scuttle on the water, watching her gaze longingly at Eric on the beach. His Majesty and Sebastian were watching her from another point. I saw Triton talking to Sebastian and said to Scuttle "I wonder what they're saying."

"Hmm, maybe they're talking about how they're gonna punish her."

"No. No, I don't think so. He looks kinda sad. Wait...what's he doing with the trident?"

Our curiosity became amazement, and then happiness. King Triton loved his daughter so much, he was willing to give her what she wanted; turning her human so she could be with her prince. I remember cheering as they embraced, and then kissed.

The wedding was spectacular. Ariel looked beautiful in her wedding "gown". But for me, the best part was when Scuttle lifted me up into the air so I could say goodbye to her. She kissed me on the nose and ruffled Scuttle's feathers, almost causing him to drop me. I waved farewell as we went back down.

As we congratulated Sebastian on his final defeat of Louis the chef, Triton said goodbye to his favorite daughter. The merpeople began to sing out in harmony.

"Now we can walk

Now we can run

Now we can stay all day

In the sun.

Just you & me

And I can be

Part of your world!"

Triton gave them one last wedding present. He used the trident to create a beautiful rainbow. As the ship sailed off, I felt a tiny bit of sadness that I didn't get to tell Ariel my feelings. But as long as she was happy, I was too.

Nine months later, we found out fantastic news. Ariel had given birth to a baby girl! When I heard the news I did a triple somersault!

The girl was to be presented officially at a big ceremony, but Ariel told me I could come with Sebastian to see her before hand. That was all right with me.

One afternoon, we met her (Ariel, that is) on the beach, carrying a small bundle. I felt my heart beat faster as she knelt at the water's edge and undid the top part of the blanket. She held her so that we could see her face.

A pair of big blue eyes topped with black hair looked at us. I grinned widely, and she giggled and cooed, holding her arms out to me.

"I think she likes ya, mon." Sebastian quipped, grinning.

I reached out my fin and curled it around her little finger. "She's so tiny." I breathed. "Are all human babies this size?"

Ariel smiled. "No; they get bigger as they grow up."

"Does she have a name?" I asked as I got a little closer.

"Her name is Melody."

"Melody..." I said, rolling the name around my mouth. The baby stroked my fin, feeling all the ridges. I smiled and declared "I like it."

Melody seemed to like it, too.

A couple days later, at the official ceremony, things went bad. It turned out that Ursula had a "crazy sister" Morgana, who tried to feed little Melody to her gigantic pet shark! Thanks to Eric and King Triton, she was saved, but Morgana disappeared saying that she would find Melody wherever she would be.

Ariel cane to a decision that day; until Morgana was found, Melody couldn't go into the sea...and neither would she.

"But Ariel!" I protested.

"I'm sorry, Flounder. But if Morgana is anything like Ursula, she'll never give up."

We all knew she was right. Unknown to Ariel, however, Triton told Sebastian to watch over her. I felt sorry for the poor guy; first Ariel, and now her own daughter. But I felt even sadder because I'd never see my beloved Ariel ever again.

Twelve years passed. After we left, I went into despair. I didn't eat, sleep; I didn't even explore. I couldn't talk to any of my friends, save for Sebastian; the only one who knew my secret.

Triton missed her too. He actually fixed up the grotto and restored her collection. I would go in there and sit among her treasures and wallow in my memories. After a while, it was Aquata, Ariel's oldest sister, who told me that I couldn't mope around forever. "You need to quit mooning over her being gone! She wouldn't want you to be a sorry sea slug!" were her exact words to me. She became the second person to know my secret.

Then I met Tina.

It was at a royal function that Triton threw for Adella's engagement. I went because I'd moved into the palace and I liked Adella. Anyway, there I was, floating by the buffet table and consoling myself with some seaweed punch when I heard a voice saying "Well, I didn't think I'd see such a handsome fish here."

I turned around and saw...a guppy, just like me. Only it was a she, and her fins were colored green. She was pretty cute. "Um, yeah, well...I know the bride-to-be." I said. "And you?"

"Oh I know the groom. So, you got a name, or do you not have one?" She said with a wink. I found myself smiling as I answered "It's Flounder."

Her eyes widened. "You're Flounder!? The one who's Princess Ariel's best friend!?" she gasped. "Wow! I've heard a lot about you, and I always wanted to meet you in person."

I was taken aback. "Really? You mean it?"

"Yeah! Hey, is it true that she hid a full-grown killer whale in her bedroom?"

I laughed. "Well, yes it was a killer whale, but he was a baby. And it took three months for him to not almost fit in there."

And so we talked well into the night. I found myself enjoying her company. We met for a few more time after that, and I fell in love with her. And soon I asked her to marry me; she said yes!

The royal family came to the wedding. I was so happy they were there, but I still wished that a certain someone was there, too.

That night, I told Tina about how I still loved Ariel, because couples should never keep secrets from each other. How glad I was that she understood!

Then I became a dad of six little guppies of my own. One of them, the youngest, was a chicken fish like I used to be. I tell ya, it's not easy raising kids. Then I heard a rumor that Melody, who was now twelve, had been sneaking out and learning how to swim without Ariel knowing! Huh, like mother, like daughter. Then Melody had run away, and the king joined the search to find her.

What I didn't know was that he'd turned Ariel back into a mermaid to find her daughter. I got that pleasant surprise one day, when I took the kids out.

"Kids, stay close to each other!" I called to them as they went to play. "Ok dad!" they all chorused back. I chuckled to myself and did a quick count. 'One, two, three, four, five, six—wait a minute where's—'

I got my answer as my youngest, Gerby, came zooming out of nowhere yelling "Daddy!!!" I rolled my eyes and said "Now what?"

We swam out from behind the rock to see a mer-woman swimming there. She giggled sheepishly and said "Sorry." I looked at her, then gasped.

"Ariel?"

She raised an eyebrow, and then a smile of hope broke out on her face. "Flounder?" she asked. I practically flew at her shouting "Ariel!"

She caught me and squeezed me to her, just like the good old days. "Oh I missed you!" she cried. The feeling was mutual.

I told her I would help her find Melody. After leaving the kids back at home (and introducing Tina to Ariel), the two of us went searching. Maybe it was coincidence, but we found ourselves at the shipwreck where she'd found the dinglehopper so many years ago. When we had our group (Me, Ariel, Urchin, and Sebastian), we carved our initials into one of the beams before that. I'd completely forgotten about it until I came upon it during our search.

"Hey Ariel! Come here!" I called. She swam over to me and I pointed to the wood. "Does that look familiar?"

She studied the A, F, U, and S for a minute. "Oh I remember now. That was when we saved you from becoming a howling hair fish."

"Yeah." I chuckled. "Boy, we had some adventures, didn't we?"

She smiled wistfully. "We sure did."

As we let old memories wash over us, I suddenly felt the time was right to tell her what I'd been holding in for so long. "Um...Ariel?"

"Yes?"

"C...can I tell you something?"

"Of course."

I took a deep breath and said "I've...been in love with someone for a very long time. Tina knows and she understands."

"Go on."

"Uh...the girl is someone I've known for a long time. I've been through hot water and back with her. I knew of her greatest desire...of her deepest wish."

"Who is it?" she asked, but I think she knew who I was talking about.

"I...it's...it's you, Ariel. I love you, and I have for so long." I finally said it. And there was silence from her.

I spoke up. "I've wanted to tell you for a long, long time. But I knew it would never be. I mean, you were gonna be queen someday; how would it look if people found out that a fish was in love with you? And I told myself finally that even if you...didn't feel the same way, I wouldn't stand in the way of your happiness. If...if you don't want to be friends anymore, then I understand. But I don't want this to ruin anything we have between us."

She stared at me, so many emotions on her lovely features. I bowed my head in shame, waiting for her slap me, or leave the ship.

Instead I felt her hand go under and lift my chin and I gazed into her eyes. She smiled softly, and slowly bent down. My heart began pounding more and more. I closed my eyes, and sensed her coming closer to me. I was trembling so badly...

Then she kissed me. Not on the nose, or the cheek, but right on my lips. I felt so much emotion coursing through me I thought I would burst. I felt tears of joy trickling from my eyes as I thought 'She's kissing me! Ariel is _kissing me_!'

After a few minutes, she pulled away. I opened my eyes and saw her smiling at me. "I'm glad you finally told me." She said.

"But we're still friends?" I asked hopefully.

"Of course, we always have been, and always will be." She kissed me on the forehead, and swam away. I was in a daze from the kiss when I promptly crashed into the wall with an "Ow!". As I held my stinging nose, I heard her laughing and turned to see her doubled over. "Oh, Flounder!" she giggled. I started laughing too.

Everything went well after that. Morgana was defeated, and Melody reconciled with her parents. And she finally knew who her grandfather was. And the merpeople and humans could now live together in peace.

I've taken to swimming with Melody and her two friends Tip and Dash; my kids join us, but sometimes it's just us four. I've told her all about our adventures, and she calls me "Uncle Flounder". Eric & Triton have appointed me Royal Ambassador of Land & Sea. It's a much honored position. Tina is good friends with Ariel, and is a surrogate mother to Melody.

And sometimes, when Ariel is tired of ruling the kingdom, she'll turn into a mermaid. She'll go with me to our grotto, and we'll both talk about this and that.

And she'll always hold me in her lap, stroke my back fin, and sing to me. That time is when I can remember so many things.

It's just me...and my best friend...the girl I love.

**THE END**

**Oh...my...god. I (pant) finally (pant) finished (pant) it! Please r & r!**

**Finished 3/8/2007 1:42 PM**


End file.
